Sean Payton made one of the boldest calls of his coaching career during the Denver Broncos' 21-17 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles on October 5. With 7:36 left in the game, Payton opted for two after a touchdown instead of kicking the extra point to tie. The victory marked Denver's first road win in Philadelphia since 1986.
Payton was confident when the moment arrived. “I thought we controlled the fourth quarter,” he explained postgame. “We came here to win the game, and I had two or three calls I loved. We got to a call, I had a lot of confidence in and the guys executed.”
Broncos Make History With Bold Two-Point Call
The decision marked a historic first for Payton. In his 298-game head coaching career, he had never before attempted a go-ahead two-point conversion in a similar situation. Bo Nix delivered a perfect pass to Troy Franklin for the conversion, giving Denver an 18-17 lead.
Nix described how quickly Payton made the call. “Next thing I knew, he was just giving me the hash, giving me the call,” Nix said. “We only have one play to go get the job done.” The quarterback executed perfectly, rolling out and finding Franklin in the corner of the end zone for the successful conversion.
Payton's aggressive mindset was clear throughout his postgame comments. He wanted to keep the pressure on Philadelphia rather than playing it safe with a tie. The team had practiced the specific play for weeks, waiting for exactly this type of high-leverage moment. Payton said the only call he regretted was the final third down before the field goal.
The analytics backed up his decision, too. Going for two with over seven minutes remaining meant Denver still had time to respond, even if it failed. More importantly, taking the lead meant Philadelphia would need a touchdown to win, not just a field goal.
The strategy worked perfectly. Denver's defense shut down the Eagles for the final 7:36, holding them scoreless on their last five drives. Philadelphia managed just 48 yards total on those possessions, with some drives actually losing yardage.
Payton's bold call proved to be the difference maker. The victory handed the defending Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season and gave the coach his 173rd career win, moving him past mentor Bill Parcells into a tie for 14th all-time. It was a statement win that showed they could compete with the NFL's elite.
